Film about Neil’s Harbour headed to Los Angeles

A class project that resulted in a video about the tiny village of Neil’s Harbour will soon be viewed in one of the largest cities in the United States.

Emily Fricker produced the video, “Neil’s Harbour: A Day Down Home,” about the community where she grew up while she was a student in the screen arts program at the Dartmouth campus of the Nova Scotia Community College. Next month, the four-minute video will be screened at the Los Angeles Underground Film Forum, which describes itself as Los Angeles premier showcase of experimentation in film, video and audio-based mediums.

The film was shot during three days during March of this year and edited over a two-week period. It aired at FIN, the Atlantic International Film Festival last month.

“It was really fun,” says Fricker. “I was really glad that I did it. I really wanted to film my hometown so it was a blast.”

Although Fricker had applied to the festival last spring, she had pretty much forgotten about it until she received notification it had been accepted for a screening earlier this month.

“I was very surprised,” said Fricker in a phone interview from her present home in Dartmouth. “I actually submitted it in April or May so I honestly forgot about it - when I got the email, I was totally taken aback by it.”

She didn’t plan to go to the film forum because of the high cost of going to and staying in Los Angeles. However, the Gainey Foundation in Montreal, which supports environmental and arts programs for youth, has offered to cover Fricker’s travel and accommodations.

“They saw I wasn’t going so they are now funding my trip,” said Fricker. “I’m still trying to process what happened. It all happened pretty fast but I’m pretty excited.”

Although she just completed a job in television, Fricker currently has several part-time jobs as she considers her next project.

“I’m working on a script right now and I have a few other ideas for stuff I’d like to do,” she says. “I’m trying to figure that out and they’re just small projects but hopefully they’ll be something in the future.”